You could say that the Allmans were the best rock group to
come out of Georgia until R.E.M., except that they actually came out of
Jacksonville, Florida (and Gregg and Duane Allman were from Nashville). Still
it’s not hard to imagine the younger Peter Buck busy learning all the guitar
lines to their biggest hit. Written and sung by Dickey Betts, the rest of the
band liked it but were reluctant to record it because they felt it veered too close
to country music. Similarly, those in charge at Capricorn Records were baffled
and didn’t know whether to release it or another song entitled “Wasted Words”
as the lead single from Brothers And
Sisters. However, promotional copies of “Ramblin’ Man” did get sent to
radio stations in Atlanta and Boston and listener response was significant
enough to get it properly released.
The song ambles along agreeably enough before building up to
an extended guitar jam featuring Betts and Les Dudek. Remarkably the recording,
lasting nearly five minutes, was not edited down for single release, indicating
that FM radio demographics were encroaching on AM territory and that the model of what radio listeners actually wanted to hear was changing. What else the
record might have indicated - and not just for popular music - will be examined further in the next entry.
Date Record Made
Number Two: 13 October 1973
Number Of Weeks At
Number Two: 1
Record At Number One: That
Cher song again; Gregg Allman kept off number one by Cher, Oh, The, Irony
UK Chart Position: None
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